New photos of what Apple’s iPad Mini may look like started making the rounds on the web Monday.

Considerably smaller than the current iPad, the tablet has two rear speakers rather than the single speaker on the current iPad, and uses the new lightning connector Apple introduced with the iPhone 5. Placed beside a third-generation iPad in the photos, you can really see how the size difference between the two tablets will come into play.

Originally posted on Twitter by Sonny Dickson, the photos line up with current iPad Mini rumors. However, they could also simply be mockups of the device based on those rumors.

In addition to being smaller, the iPad Mini is also expected to be less expensive than the current iPad, pitting it against tablets such as the Nexus 7 and Kindle Fire in the marketplace. Recent rumors also suggest a 3G version of the tablet will be available.

Screen protectors for the yet-to-be-announced iPad Mini are already on sale at Zagg.com. Rumors suggest that Apple will be sending out invitations to an event to announce the tablet this Wednesday, with an event to announce the tablet taking place on October 17.

Apple is traditionally very secretive about its products and product announcements, but photos and details about its iPhone 5 were heavily circulated on the web prior to the official announcement of the phone.

Do you think Apple will announce an iPad Mini this month? What do you think we’ll see in the tablet? Let us know your thoughts in the comments.